On July 21st FUSE Charter School, which will open in Northeast Minneapolis in the fall of 2017, was announced as one of fifty finalists (down from an initial field of 700) for one of at least five $10 million grants from the national XQ Super School Project Competition.
Backed by Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, the competition seeks to identify at least five grantees (both school districts and individual schools can apply) that have reimagined how high school can best prepare students for college, workplace and life. The XQ application asks applicants a variety of questions about how their school will be staffed, how they will enable student-centered and standards-based learning, as well how they will utilize community partnerships. The winners will have five years to spend the cash award, with the intention that they will be able to turn their ideas into real “Super Schools.”
According to FUSE co-founder, Bonnie Powers, FUSE applied to the XQ Super School Project because it offered them the opportunity to rethink core concepts and approaches to school, as well as to dream big and explore what a high school should be, not necessarily what school looks like today.
FUSE will be a teacher-powered school that will utilize applied learning, community partnerships, genuine learning communities, and authentic assessments in order to personalize learning for each of their students. According to Powers, “FUSE returns the ownership of education to the people that it impacts: young people, families, educators, and the community.”
Winners will be notified August 4th, but an announcement to the public will not be made until mid-September.